By RDC Athletics

Kings Volleyball team gunning for 14th national title on home court

Oct 8, 2018 | 11:04 AM

The RDC Kings Volleyball has plenty of national titles to its credit – 13 of them, actually.

This year, though, things are different as for the first time ever the Kings have a guaranteed spot at nationals because they’re hosting the tournament for the first time at the all-new Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre.

“The history of our men’s volleyball program speaks for itself. Our goal is to always win ACAC’s (Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference) and give us a chance at CCAA’s,” says Kings head coach Schulha. “For us to have this facility to host nationals is an outstanding thing for us, the College and volleyball in central Alberta, in general.”

The Kings are a veteran group, with seven returning student-athletes and four significant transfers. Returning from last season are Thomas Wass, Steven Keating, Isaiah Stime, Chris Petersen, Mark DeWit, Ben Holmes and Adam Turlejski, a 2017 – 18 ACAC All-Conference selection. Transferring to RDC this season are Tristan Simmonds (UBC Okanagan), who was a 2016 – 17 CCAA All-Canadian, Paul Mennie (U of S), Marcus Roflik (U of R) and a familiar face in Regan Fathers (U of C).

Fathers was a standout in his previous time with the Kings. The six-foot-six right-side hitter won two national championships and was named the 2017 MVP of the CCAA championship. He was also selected as the Red Deer Bottling RDC Male Athlete of the Year the same season. He finished a successful stint playing for the University of Calgary Dinos, of U Sports, but wanted to return to complete his Kinesiology program.

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“Knowing Red Deer’s program and the people, I feel RDC is a good spot for me and coming back is more than comfortable,” he says.

“This year, we have a really deep roster. We have a lot of young guys who have shown early that they are competent to start and they are pushing the older players. The guys that we have on the court and on the bench know what it takes to get the most out of each other.”

Part of this new group of first-year players are, Cody Boulding, Jace Martin, a six-foot-seven middle from Sylvan Lake, Noah Robertson, JJ Graham and Jayden Fathers, Regan’s brother.

Even with an experienced lineup, the first-year Kings will get their opportunities to perform.

“Regan, Turk (Turlejski) and the older guys have had a lot of playing time in their post-secondary careers to this point, so it’s important for them to get some rest during the season as well,” says Schulha. “Those first, second and third-year players will have to take the reins when they’re gone and it is equally as important that they get quality reps as well. It is a balancing act for playing time, but I think that we are deep enough that we can mix our lineups and hopefully give other team fits.”

In five exhibition matches, the Kings impressively won four and only dropped one match to the University of Alberta Golden Bears, of U Sports, while getting more familiar with their new surroundings. “Guys have adjusted quite well in terms of using the height to our advantage,” says Schulha. “There’s a little bit of spacial recognition involved and it may take setters a little more time to get used to setting to the outside. We will get as many reps as we can in here and hopefully use that home court advantage come February and March.”

The Kings will open the 2018 – 19 season against the Lethbridge College Kodiaks in the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre on Friday, October 12, at 8:00 p.m.

The Kings will host CCAA Nationals from March 6 – 9, 2019.
 

(Brent Forster – RDC)